2014 FIFA World Cup qualification: 2014 is Japan’s 5th qualification [5th consecutive] out of a 15 possible qualification attempts (1930 & 1934: did not enter; 1938: withdrew; 1950: banned [as a result of sanctions following World War II]; 1954: did not qualify; 1958: did not enter; 1962: did not qualify; 1966: did not enter; 1970 to 1994: did not qualify; 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014: qualified).

Population of Ivory Coast: 22.4 million {2013 estimate}. Capital: Yamoussoukro, pop. 200,000 {2005 figure}. Largest city and metro area in Ivory Coast: Abidjan, metro area pop. 7. 1 million {2012 estimate}.